False Love Re-Written
by Crazygirla101
Summary: Ichigo has been married to Masaya for 2 yrs. But when Ichigo meets Ryou again, after 7 yrs, things get a little confusing. Both old & new feelings arise. Realizations occur and nothing stays the same. (Re-write in progress)
1. The Bump

**Summary: It has been 7 yrs. since the project and Ichigo has been married to Masaya for 2 yrs. They have moved back to Tokyo, and Ichigo finds herself in strangely arousing situations ohoh is Ichigo having an affair? If so with who?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew.**

**Note: italicized means thoughts**

* * *

_**False Love**_

**Chapter 1: The Bump**

"Sure, I'd love to meet you there, Retasu," Ichigo said to her cellphone.

* * *

**Ichigo Aoyama**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: 20**

**Status: Married**

**Occupation: House wife**

**Look: The same except taller and a little more mature looking and wears little make-up**

**Motto: "I know I'm as clumsy as I use to be, but I also know that I shouldn't give up and that I can always count on my friends and husband."**

**Self-image: Clumsy, courageous and trustful.**

* * *

She was walking on the sidewalk talking with Retasu when she took her eyes off it for a second to look at her watch when _**bump**_.

"Oh! Ah sorry!" said Ichigo.

"Just watch where you're going next time," the stranger responded. Ichigo couldn't help looking up at the man. His deep blue aquamarine eyes and short blonde hair, immediately striking her as familiar.

"Do I know you?" She asked. He arched his brow at her, "I don't think so." He turned away from her and she watched him walk away.

_"She looks exactly the same,"_ he thought.

"Ichigo! What happened?" she heard Retasu frantic in her ear, "Are you ok?"

"Huh? Oh Retasu, no don't worry I just bumped into a guy _"a really hot guy"_ is all," she said turning around. "Wait," she stopped, "Sorry, Retasu, but I'm gonna have to call you back later," she hung up, took a deep breath and yelled "SHIROGANE!"

He then turned around looked at her with a smirk on his face, "Took you long enough," he said.

* * *

**Ryou Shirogane**

**Gender: Male**

**Age: 23**

**Status: Single**

**Occupation: College Professor**

**Look: Older more mature, and super hot! (Sorry I'm a big Ryou Fan)**

**Motto: "Just get through life, one way or another."**

**Self-image: Smart, stubborn, mature, responsible, courageous, strong (the list can go on and on)**

* * *

**Yes, I've decided to re-write the story. The story line is kinda staying the same, but the story is definitely changing. You'll notice (thanks to one of the people who commented my original False Love) that I've fixed the ages. I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed my previous False Love story. I had made that a long time ago and reading it over I wanted to fix all the mistakes I made AND I wanted to change some of the story, but so many people commented and told me they liked it, so there is no way I could just take it down. I hope those who enjoyed my previous False Love, enjoy the new and, hopefully, improved False Love. Thanks to all the kind people who supported me.**

**Tell me what you think! Please R&amp;R!**


	2. The Reunion

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMM.**

* * *

_**False Love**_

**Chapter 2: The Reunion**

"Wait," she stopped, "Sorry, Retasu, but I'm gonna have to call you later," she hung up, took a deep breath and yelled "SHIROGANE!"

He then turned around looked at her with a smirk on his face, "Took you long enough," he said.

* * *

A Little While Later in a cafe (well isn't that a coinkydink)...

"Wow, Shirogane! After all these years we meet again! Gosh, how long has it been?" Ichigo squealed. _"Wow is right! Ryou is lookin' good! Wait, did I seriously just think that about mean and stubborn Shirogane? Hah!" _she thought, while watching him wince and rub his ears at her voice. _"Somehow, I don't think I ever really noticed how beautiful those penetrating aquamarine eyes were or the way he wears that soft smile... those lips.. Hold up! Married woman here! I can't get lost in someone else's looks! Geeze, I love my husband. What's with me?" _she thought.

"Hey!" Ryou said, snapping her out of her thoughts, "Did you hear anything I've said?"

"Huh?" she said, chewing on her bottom lip nervously.

He shook his head and laughed, "You haven't changed a bit. First you screech in my ear and then you don't listen to a word I say. You're definitely lucky my patience is not as short as it used to be, Ms. Airhead," he said flicking her forehead.

He watched her flinch and pout at him. _"Well, well, well we finally see each other again and __**you**__ can't stop staring at me. Little you know, that's all you'll ever be able to do, because I'm completely, COMPLET- wait, is that... is that a ring?" _he thought.

"Oh come on, Shirogane! Give me a break, Mr. Braniac," she whines, "Seriously, how've you been? How's Keiichiro?"

_"That really looks like a wedding ring! Is this a joke?"_ he thought.

"Actually," he stated,"Keiichiro left to Africa for some archeological research few years back." Ryou kept staring at her hand, a soft rage forming inside him and threatening to make him lose his well practiced composure. A rage that always seemed to find a way to rip his insides apart. The feeling was far too familiar, he remembered feeling the same way he felt when he watched her leave with that idiot kid so many years ago. He took a slow breath and pushed it all down and answered her, "And I'm a college professor at Tokyo University, how have you been?"

Ichigo looked at her ring and frowned, "I got married to Masaya, remember him?" she answered dryly. _"Crap! Why did I have to say it like that?" _she mentally slapped herself, _"I love my husband."_

Ryou nodded, "Yeah, I remember, you always talked about your perfect boyfriend, in fact, you couldn't shut up about him." _"You will never know how miserable that made me," _he thought, looking into her eyes. Those eyes that always seemed so full of warmth, always beckoning him to come closer. This feeling seemed to wake something else deep inside him, something he'd long forgotten he had. He tore his gaze away, scowling at himself for having to. _"What's wrong with me?"_ he thought.

"Yeah, I was boy crazy back then," she laughed, the bitterness in her voice catching Ryou's full attention.

"Yeah," he agreed, surprised at how unhappy she sounded.

He watched her eyes brighten and a genuine smile settle in her features, "Back then you always used to yell at me for stupid things."

He couldn't help returning her smile, "Back then you always gave me stupid reasons to yell at your for."

She stuck her tongue out playfully to him and asked, "How's the cafe?"

He quickly looked at his watch, _"4 p.m. It's early," _he thought. "Listen I have to get going now, but how about you call me later and we'll try to meet up again and really catch up?" he asked losing all the emotion in his voice, wishing he could make her snap like he used to.

"Oh well... sure," she said.

He pulled out a pen from his pocket and carefully wrote out his name and phone number on a napkin, "Here. Call me whenever," he said while getting up and putting a couple of tens on the table. He gave her one last smile and left.

She picked up the napkin and grinned, "Oh my gosh, he gave me his number!" she squealed. She frowned at her words, _"What am I saying? Again, married woman here! Why do I need to keep reminding myself?" _she thought, but she knew why. It was because every time she looked into his eyes, she seemed to lose herself. His eyes told her how full of possibilities he was. She sighed loudly, "No! You know what the problem is? It's that I haven't seen Masaya all day and we had that fight last night," she thought out-loud. She looked at the phone number again and felt her heart skip a beat. She got up and left, intent on going to see her husband.

* * *

A Few Hours Later...

Walking into her small studio apartment, she frowned, _"Can't believe that after all those years of complete devotion to Masaya...I still live in a small, crummy apartment,"_ she thought bitterly. She went to her small, frayed love seat, hearing a car pull in outside. She sat down and watched the door patiently, seeing her husband smiling when he came inside.

"Hey honey, how are you?" he said while coming towards her and kissing her cheek.

* * *

**Masaya Aoyama**

**Gender: Male**

**Age: 20**

**Status: Married**

**Occupation: College student (if you have a better idea for this, feel free to tell me)**

**Look: Adult looking, black hair is shorter than he used to have it.**

**Motto: "The world is our home, we must do everything we can to protect it."**

**Self-image: Strong, courageous, &amp; always calm.**

* * *

She sighed, "Fine, sweetie. So what do yo-" she was interrupted by a kiss. Masaya put his arms around her, deepening the kiss and all she could think of was the odd feeling in the pit of her stomach.

As they made love, she found herself not being able to remove a certain blonde from her mind._ "What is wrong with me? Why can't I get him out of my head?"_ she thought.

* * *

**Can you dig it? R&amp;R please! :3**


	3. Nice Surprise

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMM.**

* * *

_**False Love**_

**Chapter 3: The Nice Surprise**

The day after...

"Hey guys!" Ichigo said as she sat down. In the end beside her was Purin, "Hey, Ichigo! How yah doin'?" she said excitedly.

* * *

**Purin Fong**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: 1****6**

**Status: Dating**

**Occupation: Student &amp; part time entertainer at club "KK" -She does performances, tricks like she use to only much much better.**

**Look: Only a little bit taller than she use to be and started to get into gymnastics.**

**Motto: "Always live life to the fullest &amp; always keep your friends &amp; family beside you."**

**Self-image: Hyper &amp; fun loving **

* * *

"Purin calm down! Ichigo you're late!" Minto said playfully in the seat next to Purin's.

* * *

**Minto Aizawa**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: 20**

**Status: Single**

**Occupation: Professional Ballerina/Dancer**

**Look: Mature, longer hair but usually keeps it in one bun **

**Motto: "Money is a privilege; it should not be wasted but earned."**

**Self-image: Strong &amp; beautiful, ambitious**

* * *

"I'm not late! Besides, Zakuro isn't here yet," Ichigo said with a pout.

"Well, Ichigo, I'm glad you could make it," said Retasu, a small smile forming on her lips. Her seat between Ichigo's and Minto's.

* * *

**Retasu Midorikawa**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: 2****1**

**Status: Dating**

**Occupation: College student**

**Look: More taller and mature, smaller more "in style" glasses, shorter hair wears is it in a pony tail**

**Motto: "Always do the right thing, even though sometimes it may hurt."**

**Self-image: Smart, shy &amp; always polite**

* * *

"Actually, Zakuro, called and said she couldn't make it," Retasu said her voice a soft, sad quiver.

"You would've known that if you'd gotten here on time," Minto huffed.

They were in a small restaurant, nothing fancy, but nice, the perfect environment for lunch.

"See I told you I knew a good place for lunch and close, too," Ryou said, entering the same place.

"Ok... So maybe it **_looks_** nice," the woman answered him. At the sound Ichigo's head shot up to him, "Shirogane!" Ichigo said louder than she intended to. Ryou's eyes immediately found her and they locked with her's for a moment.

"Hey, come with me for a sec," Ryou said to the woman with him, as he started to walk towards the girls.

"Sure," the woman responded, following after him.

"Hey Ichigo, Retasu, Purin, and Minto. Long time no see," Ryou said, a soft smile forming on his face.

"Ryou!" Purin yelled, jumping from her seat and hugging him, the woman behind him seemingly startled.

"I'm glad you're as hyper as ever," Ryou said with a warm chuckle, his body tensing from discomfort.

"Ryou!"Minto and Retasu said in unison, getting up from their seat in surprise.

Purin let go, the shock and delight still clear in her face, she looked at Ichigo, "Aren't you surprised?"

Ichigo smiled, getting up, "Ryou is the friend I bumped into yesterday."

"Ryou, we haven't seen you in so long," Retasu said, her eyes beginning to water.

"It's so great to see you again," Minto said, "Would you like to join us?" _"Wow! Ryou is smiling,"_ Minto thought.

Ryou caught the hopeful look in her eyes. How could he say no? "I'd love to, Minto," he said turning to the woman and giving her what he hoped was a pleading look.

She sighed and smiled at him, "I'm sure it'll be fun."

He smiled at her and gave her hand a squeeze, "Everyone this is Correna; Correna this is Retasu, Minto, Purin, and Ichigo," he said as he pointed to each girl, "They're old friends of mine, remember the cafe I used to own? Well, they were my first employees."

"Oh! It's nice to meet you all," Correna said.

* * *

**Correna Font**

**Gender: Female**

**Age: 21**

**Status: Single**

**Occupation: College student**

**Look: Mature, with green eyes and nice &amp; silky dirty blonde hair, skinny with white skin**

**Motto: "There are many fine men out there, but only a few great men, we must not mistreat them but serve them."**

**Self-image: Beautiful &amp; confident**

* * *

"Nice to me you too, Correna," the girls said in unison.

"We're very sorry to cause such a commotion," Retasu said wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Oh, no please I understand what it is to meet an old friend, besides anybody who's Ryou's friend is my friend and I'd love to eat lunch with Ryou and all of you," she said looking at Ryou, all the girls, and then back to Ryou smiling.

"Ha! Please don't mind her she's just sucking up because I'm her teacher," Ryou said smirking.

* * *

**Yes, short chapter, but there is a reason for that. I'm already working on the next one. So have no fear.**

**Please R&amp;R!**


	4. The Lunch

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMM.**

* * *

_****False Love****_

****Chapter 4: ********The Lunch****

"So what are you guys up to?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm on my lunch break and Correna just finished her classes for today, so I invited her to lunch," Ryou answered.

Minto asked glancing at Correna, "So, Ryou, you're a teacher?"

"College professor, actually," Correna responded.

Ichigo couldn't help eying Correna down, from her silky dirty blonde hair to her sky blue halter top, her cut off shorts, and her stupid matching wedges. The way she answered questions for Ryou, all of it just made her mad. She couldn't help the feeling bubbling inside her. _"Why does she have to be so freaking pretty?" _she thought.

"Are you two dating?" Ichigo blurted out.

Ichigo caught Correna's mouth twitch as she listened to Ryou's answer, "Uh... No."

"Oh," Ichigo said. Relief washing through her, then she felt shock sliding in it's place, _"Why am I relieved? I shouldn't even care!" _she thought, _"Seriously, something is wrong with me!"_

Ichigo blushed, realizing everyone was looking at her, "Sorry, I couldn't help my curiosity," she mumbled looking down.

"Well.. Curiosity killed the cat, you know," Correna remarked.

Ryou couldn't help laughing, the sound capturing Ichigo's attention. She watched him, saw the glint in his eyes and laughed with him. All the girls did, the difference was is that she was the only one who felt a tingle running through her veins at his voice.

Correna looked at everyone confused, Ryou shook his head, "Sorry, you just brought up a very old joke between us."

"Ah," Correna nodded, "Old inside joke."

Minto gave Correna a tight smile, "Please forgive her."

Ryou snorted, "Never thought I'd see the day when Minto actually apologized for someone else."

Minto chuckled and cast Ichigo a glance, "Good friends are worth it."

Ryou nodded, satisfied that they all seemed to have stayed close, at the same time feeling a feeling of betrayal shoot through his spine. "_So they all stayed friends and I.. fell off their radar," _he thought bitterly.

"Ryou, you're really different," Purin said.

He arched his brow at her, "How so?"

She reached over and traced his forehead with her index finger on his head, "You used to be super uptight."

Correna laughed at her comment, "Oh he's definitely still uptight. Trust me."

He rolled his eyes, "Excuse me for taking my job seriously."

"Too seriously," Correna remarked and winked at him. Their closeness irritating Ichigo again.

"Regardless, it's nice to see you like this, you know, relaxed," Retasu said smiling.

He grinned at her and looked around the table. Everything about the situation made him want to high tail it out the door. The sadness he felt that none of them stayed in contact or even tried to, the fact that they all grew without him. He shook the thought off. _"Let it go,"_ he reminded himself, but he just couldn't. These girls had become important to him, he cared for them, and none of them could pick up the phone and say "Hey, I'm alive and ok." He couldn't help the sour taste in his mouth and his stomach churning in the worst way.

None of the girls could take their eyes off him. He suddenly felt uncomfortable and empty. Just as he had when the Mew project had ended.

"Are you ok?" Minto said carefully.

"I'm fine," he snapped, feeling himself begin to sweat. He was suffocating.

He shot up from his seat and pulled out his wallet. "I have to go," he said, not wanting to see them any longer.

"Don't," Correna said, placing her hand on his, "I'll pay for you."

Ryou knew better than to argue with her about who paid or not, he mumbled a quick, "Thanks," and started to make his way out the door.

"Ryou wait!" Ichigo said going after him, "We were having a nice tim-"

"Just stop, Ichigo," he interrupted her, "I'm not in the mood for this," he said, stepping away from her and making his getaway. He had to leave.

Ichigo watched him go, turned around and then slumped down on her chair.

"What was **_that_**?" Purin asked.

"I don't know, did I do something wrong?" Minto asked.

"No, Minto, you didn't do anything," Ichigo said and patting her back.

"I wonder what's wrong," Retasu said, concern setting in her features.

Correna chewed on her bottom lip, "Well... Actually..."

"What do you know?" Minto demanded.

"Minto, calm down," Retasu said, "Correna, would you mind telling us what you know?"

Correna sighed, "Well I don't really know much, but I know it's not the first time he's acted like that. When I asked him about his past, I mean he told me a few things, but then he abruptly got quiet and practically kicked me out of his office."

"Is he temperamental?" Purin asked.

"He is **_not_** temperamental," Correna quickly retorted.

"I was just asking," Purin said.

"You like him, don't you?" Ichigo accused.

"Do you?" Correna shot back.

"I'm married," Ichigo responded.

"That doesn't answer my question," Correna huffed.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Ichigo asked.

"Girls! Please stop!" Retasu cried.

Ichigo glared at Correna, "I only have a heart for Masaya."

Correna snorted, "Jealousy looks ugly on you."

"That's it! I'm leaving!" Ichigo said getting up and storming out.

"But Ichigo!" Retasu said a little too late. "Oh this whole afternoon has been ruined," Retasu whined.

* * *

Ryou arrived at his office with plenty of time to spare before his next class. He sat on his chair, looking around the room. His mind replaying the whole conversation.

He had snapped and felt like a fool for it. Back then he had tried contacting the girls multiple times and none ever seemed to be able to get back to him. Those memories still stung.

_"Did I ever mean anything to any of them?" _he thought.

He stayed quiet for several moments laying his head on his desk. His heart finally beginning to settle down when someone knocked on his door. He looked at the time. _"I still have an hour, no one should be in my class room," _he thought. Sitting up, he said, "Come in."

His eyes widen at the presence of the girl walking in, "Ichigo?"

She walked in, closing the door behind herself, then she walked towards him and knelt down in front of him. Looking at him with concern in her eyes, "Ryou, are you ok?"

He looked at her in slight disbelief, "I'm fine," he responded.

He stared into her eyes, allowing the glowing warmth from them to consume him. He brushed the hair off her face without thinking and watched her blush at the gesture. The corner of his eye catching a glint from her hand, he pulled himself away.

"What are you doing here, Ichigo?"

"I was worried about you," she shook her head, "I didn't want you to disappear off the face of the Earth again."

"Disappear?" he said in bewilderment, "I've always been right here."

"That's not true," she said exasperated, "After it all ended, I kept emailing you and you never answered!"

"What are you talking about? I called you about a million times!" he answered back.

"My phone number changed, Shirogane! That's why I was emailing you!" she yelled, "Trying to give you my new one, but you never answered!"

He shook his head in shock, "I changed my email years ago."

"Oh," she responded, her eyes watering. He couldn't stop himself from taking her in his arms and holding her. She hugged him back and they stood there for several moments.

He pulled back softly, wiping her tears with his hand. Her face so close to his. He almost dared to kiss her.

Almost.

Ichigo wished he would, wished she could throw her arms around him at that very moment and think of nothing else. _"Why do I keep thinking these kinds of things?" _she thought, _"I'm married!"_

They gave each other wistful looks, then Ryou cleared his throat and stepped away from her.

"I.. I have a class soon," he lied.

She nodded at him, "I'll call you," she said before leaving.

He watched her go. Too many emotions welling up inside him to bear. He breathed in and gathered his things for his next class, pushing everything deep down inside himself and refusing to let it surface again. He was not that person anymore and he was over her. Over them. _"But she had tried to contact me," _he thought. Shaking his head, _"Let it go, it doesn't mean what you want it to," _he thought.

"_Just let it all go."_

* * *

**Please let me knooooww what you thinkerz!**

**R&amp;R!**


	5. The Fight

**Disclaimer: I don't own TMM.**

* * *

_**False Love**_

**Chapter 5: The Fight**

The next day...

As Ichigo sat on her worn out couch starring at the ceiling, contemplating her life. The helplessness she felt, always experiencing the same thing day in and day out._"__It's like I'm stuck in a recurring dream with no way out," _she thought, _"__How many more nights do I have to this?_" More and more she felt as if she was locked up, frozen, and unhappy. She looked at a picture of her wedding day. They were standing in her parents backyard, he was wearing a white suit and pink tie and she was in a simple ball gown wedding dress. She sighed,_"What happened to all the drive I used to have? To wanting to work hard for the future?" _Her body tensed as the animosity she felt boiled over again. She glared at the picture, _"What did you do to me?"_ She shook her head attempting to let go of the feelings growing in the pit of her stomach. She looked around the room, "Is this really my life now?"

Ichigo heard footsteps and soon after heard the front door opening. "Ichigo, I'm home," Masaya stated turning the lights on.

"You're late," she answered from the living room.

He walked over to her and smiled, "What's for dinner?"

She paused for a moment, "It's in the trash," she said coldly.

"What?" he asked skeptically, "Ichigo, we discussed this. You're supposed to make a home cooked meal," he stated calmly crossing his arms.

"Cook it yourself," she replied furiously, feeling her emotions rile up. She had enough of this. Enough of him. "You don't know what it's to stay here locked up all day! All I do is cook and clean! You barely let me see my friends and we don't even go out anymore! It's always the same thing! You come home, we eat, and you go off to do your homework!"

"I take you out and you get to see your friends enough," he huffed raising his voice, "I give you everything you need and all you do is complain."

"You only let me go out with them once or twice a month!" She yelled shaking her head, "I'm not complaining about what we have, I'm telling you I'm not happy and you don't even care!"

"I told you it will be better once I graduate," he replied exasperated.

"And when will that be?! You've been changing your majors left and right! Do you even know what you want to be?" she asked. She got up and looked at him, waiting for an answer.

"Thought so," she said grabbing her purse and heading for the door. He grabbed her by the arm and swung her back onto the couch. She could see the rage oozing from him, the same look on his face that had always struck fear in her all it did now was fuel her.

"What do you want, Ichigo?" he asked agitated.

She frowned and took a deep breath preparing herself for what was coming. It wasn't the first time this came up and it was probably not going to be the last. She steadied herself before saying, "I want to get a job. Just let me have a job, just so I can have something to do. I'm sick of being stuck here all day."

He responded, "We already discussed this, Ichigo, the answer is still the same."

"Why?" She choked.

He looked at her grinding his teeth, infuriated he responded, "The answer is no. I told you that you are my wife now and you will not work anymore. That answer is final."

"Then why didn't you tell me this before I married you!" she yelled getting back up, she ran towards the him, shoved him out of the way, and made a quick exit. She took off in her car before she could rethink her actions. She didn't know where she was going. She just knew she didn't want to be anywhere near Masaya.

The quiet of the car, was allowing his words sink in. All the arguments, his condescending voice, the way he always put her down ran through her head. It wasn't the first time they'd argued about her working. Especially after he had intentionally gotten her fired from her last job and convinced her to hold off going to college. She felt herself waking up to her life and it felt cold and empty. Then she pictured Ryou and remembered his gentle touch as he brushed the hair from her face, the warm inviting look in his eyes. She remembered the millions of times Ryou had protected her. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about him since they had met again. _"Seeing him again... Is that why I'm not afraid?" _She knew he'd always protect her or at least he always had. _"Would Ryou tell me I can't go out with my friends? Would he say I couldn't work or make me put off going to college? Why is Masaya so different from the man I thought I fell in love with?" _She felt tears prickling her eyes at all her thoughts and she pulled into the first a parking lot she saw.

Once she regained her composure, she realized she was parked at a small bar. She walked in and ordered a strawberry daiquiri. She found her phone in her purse and gazed at Ryou's number, grazing her finger on the screen. _"I'm comparing Masaya to the Ryou I __**used**__ to know, but who's to say he's __even__ the same person?"_

She put her phone down, again thinking of Ryou's eyes and the tenderness she saw in them. She knew the answer to her question. _"Ryou __**would**__ care, he __**would **__always be there. Even after not seeing him for all these years, I know that part of him would never change."_

She drank her daiquiri and a couple more, picked up her phone and called. "Please pick up, please," she said out loud. She listened to the rings until the voice-mail came on. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. _"What am I supposed to say anyway? I'm tired of my controlling husband, please save me? __I really don't feel like listening to Minto's 'I told you so' or a crying Retasu, and Purin is far too young to be in a bar.__"_ She sighed loudly and hung up, resigning herself to being alone for the night. She'd share all her stories with her friends tomorrow, the only problem was finding where to be for the night. _"Could I really go back home after that? __Obviously not, I could probably find a hotel or motel for the night nearby. Anywhere that's not back there."_

She felt tears threatening her eyes again and decided on focusing more on her drinks than anything else. This was where she was now; Alone, sad, and it was all her fault in the first place anyway. She closed her eyes and thought of the easiest distraction: Ryou. _"How did he manage to take control of my mind already anyway? Since I saw him again, I could barely think of anyone else."_

Ichigo knew her old feelings were rising up again and she also knew she shouldn't let that happen. She had to make sure to keep herself in check.

"_It's for the best," _she thought, _"...Right?"_

* * *

**Enjoy.**


	6. The Consequence

**"Tonight is the night it's the night of love**

**Forever and ever it's never enough**

**Tonight is the night it's the night of love**

**Together forever I can't get enough"**

**Funny tidbit... I wrote part of this chapter while listening to Tonight is the Night by Le Click**

* * *

_**False Love**_

**Chapter 6: The Consequence**

Walking in the bar, Ryou was taken aback by the vision he saw. There she sat wearing dark skin tight jeans, a pink tank top, and pink chucks. Her hair fluttering down her back , _"She looks amazing,"_ he thought. He found himself walking towards her and sitting by her without sparing a thought. Watching her, he could tell she was deep in thought. He found himself smiling,_ "Same old, strawberry, lost in a dream."_ He reached over flicking her forehead and watching her reaction.

"Ouch!" She yelped, her hand flying to her forehead. She blinked several times, before recognition settled in her features, "Ryou!"

He laughed, "Hey, Ichigo."

Ichigo grinned at him and said, "I just called you a few minutes ago!"

Ryou ordered a scotch and said, "Oh I forgot my phone at home, I realized it after I left. I've never seen you in here before, though, what brought you here anyway?"

She frowned, "I needed to get out of the house."

"Ahh... fight with the husband?"

She winced at his words and responded, "It was more like an overdue reality check for me."

Looking surprised he responded skeptically, "Really?"

"Yeah," she scoffed, "Why so surprised?"

He shrugged, "Last I heard, Masaya was perfect."

"It's more like I had made him out to be perfect in my head," she responded thoughtfully, "but now I realized I was wrong."

"Wow, Ichigo, I never thought I'd hear you say anything like that," Ryou responded bewildered.

She laughed bitterly, "Yeah, well, I grew up since the last time we spoke. Now what are you doing here?"

"Taking a little grading break, I live across the street," he answered, finishing up his scotch and signaling for another.

She nodded sipping her drink, "What happened at lunch yesterday?" she blurted, unable to hold the question in any longer.

He sighed, "I don't think I've drank enough to answer that."

She looked at the bar tender, "Two tequila shots, please." After he served the drinks, she picked a glass up and looked at Ryou pointedly, "Well, let me help you with that then."

Ryou shot his eyebrows up at her and picked his glass up, "I'll drink to that." She smiled and they both drank the shots down. After a few more shots, she asked again, "Well?"

He turned to her and looked at her for a moment. Noticing her soft pink lips, the light blush on her face, her silky looking skin. He had to tear his eyes away, restraining himself from allowing his feelings to conjure up anymore unnecessary thoughts. "Why do you care so much?" he asked her._ "Why am I feeling this way again? I thought I was over this. Over her."_

He turned back to look at her and caught her starring at his lips. _"Could she **want** me to to kiss her? Why is she looking at me like that?"_

She cleared her throat, pulling herself out of her trance and started, "Because, Ryou, you're my-"

She was cut off by a short kiss, "I don't think I'm in the mood to hear you call me you're friend again, Ichigo," he whispered by her lips. She felt the tingle of his breath on her, "Did you just?" she asked softly.

He started to pull away from her and she moved her hands around his neck to stop him. He gave her a skeptical look and she pulled him closer. He kissed her again, grazing his tongue over her lips to deepen the kiss. Electricity shooting from their connection. She wanted more. She needed more. She had wanted this for so long, she had never thought it could be real. He pulled back slowly this time, trying to read her reaction, before deciding to stand and began to leave and she followed him. Followed him across the street and into his apartment.

_"Is any of this real?"_ he kept asking himself, _"Did I really kiss her? Did she really follow me? Was this the alcohol talking?"_ He let her in and closed the door behind her, walked up the stairs and into to his room and she closed the door behind them. He took a few steps away from her then turned to her. Her body trembling a little, her face flushed._ "She wants me,"_ and he knew that there was no way he could turn away. Not back then and most definitely not now. Ryou still tasted her in his mouth and he knew he wanted more. He knew he needed more.

Giving her a lust filled gaze he strode towards her, took her in his arms and kissed her again. Kissed her passionately, letting his desire take charge and she kissed him just as eagerly. Tonight, they couldn't let go of each other.

* * *

**I hope everyone enjoys this chappie. :)**


	7. The Day After

**Ahh... this is... Chappieter 7... and it is this... YES. Well here you go... If you feel like it... let meeeeee know what you think. Yes, yes.**

* * *

_**False Love**_

**Chapter 7: The Day After**

The morning after...

Ryou awoke first to the light pouring in from the window, feeling heaviness on his right side, he turned his head and saw fire red hair, and could hear the soft breathing emitting. Flash backs of the night before now running through his head, he couldn't help feeling elation and disbelief amongst the many emotion snow beginning to settle in. coercing through him.

He slowly moved to get out of the bed careful not to wake her, he stood quietly for a moment tracing her body with his eyes. The flush of her desire still evident on her face, her lips perfectly, soft and pink, slightly swollen from the night before, her neck reminding him of the taste of her smooth, ivory skin, he watched her chest slowly rise up and down, and felt a need to kiss her again that almost left him staggering. Ryou turned on his heels and decided a cool shower would help him think clearer.

Quickly, he made his way to the bathroom and stepped into his shower, turning the water on, he let the cool liquid makes its course through his skin.

"_Well, I'm definitely__** not**__ over her," he thought, "And I can't even see why that's a bad thing right now. What's wrong with me?"_

Suddenly, he heard the shower door opening and in came the woman who had just about taken over any functional brain cells his emotions had left him with.

"Nya!" Ichigo shrieked and jumped into his arms, "Oh my gosh, why is the water freezing?!"

Ryou couldn't bring himself to move for a few minutes, enjoying the feel of her body pressed against his too much.

"Ryou!" Ichigo yelped, breaking him away from his thoughts, he began to laugh, before turning around to adjust the temperature of the water. "Better?" he asked, still snickering as he turned back around to face her.

Ichigo hadn't been able to stop her eyes from wandering, taking Ryou's hard, lean frame as he stood naked before her, she could bring herself to tear her eyes away of his sinfully handsome features as she watched his smile shift into a playful smirk, "What? See something you like?"

Her face quickly heating up, she stuttered responding, "D-d-do you always take such cold showeres?"

Ryou's smirk change into a soft smile, as he reached out to take her hand and slowly pulled her to him, aligning his body with hers, "Mmm sometimes," he nodded, rubbing his nose gently against hers. She leaned forward and kissed him, sighing against his lips. Again, neither could hold themselves against their desires and made love.

* * *

After their shower, Ryou lead Ichigo downstairs to his kitchen. She smiled as she settled into a chair,"This place is really nice, Ryou." He shrugged as he moved around the kitchen, "Yeah, it's ok. Scrambled eggs and bacon, ok?"

"Sounds great," she responded, feeling her stomach rumble in anticipation.

"Coffee?"

"Please!" she said. Watching Ryou work, she wondered, _"When was the last time anyone had ever cooked for me?" _She admired Ryou's body silently, entranced with his movements. The view of his defined arms as he reached in and out of the cupboards, made her sigh, as she remembered the feel of them around er, the warmth of his body, the feel of his full lips... Ichigo shook her head in an attempt pull her head out of the gutter, but her mind wouldn't stop. She also couldn't help thinking of the both of them when they were younger, the crush she had harbored for him, back then she convinced herself that Ryou would never look her way, he was older, more mature, although sometimes he didn't act like it, and he was definitely much smarter than she ever hoped to be, not to mention, the time it took her to realize that, although, he did seem to enjoy giving her a hard time, he genuinely cared for her, and put himself in many dangerous situations to protect her. Only back then, she hadn't given it as much thought as she did after she grew up a little and without his involvement, the whole project, she probably would've never met her friends, who were like sisters to her. He opened her life to experiences she never dreamed of and she could never be grateful enough for it.

Ryou turned around towards Ichigo, barely able to believe that she was sitting here, in his kitchen, wearing one of his t-shirts and his basketball shorts. It was almost like a dream for him. _"Yeah, a sad desperate dream, I shouldn't be having about a __**married **__woman,"_ he thought. As he watched, he barely felt satiated, he wanted more, wanted her here, _"I want her to be mine," _he thought. A flash of pain ran through him, at the thought of what he couldn't have. The longing building up inside of him, filling him with turmoil.

As he turned back around to finish cooking and make plates of food, and pour the cups of coffee. He sat down on the chair beside her.

"Ichigo," he whispered, "You know we need to talk."

Ichigo stiffened and nodded, "I know, I'm married. I-I-I know that this probably wasn't..." she stopped.

Ryou began, "What we did was-"

"It was not wrong!" she yelled interrupting him.

Ryou blinked a few times in surprise, "Right, but it wasn't right either." Ryou stood up, and could see the tears already forming in her eyes, he knelt down in front of her, brushing her cheek with the back of his hand. The action making her heart ache.

"Ryou, I'm sorry-"

"Stop," he said, leaning over to give her a soft kiss, knowing this would probably be the last time he ever did.

Ichigo quickly got up and ran upstairs, getting dressed and running down the stairs and out the door. Tears streaming down her face.

She saw the lights on as she walked back to her apartment. She opened the door as quietly as she could, then stepped inside closing the door behind herself.

"Masaya," she said softly.

Then a shadow appeared, she looked up and saw him standing there looking at her._"He looks angry," she thought._

"Ichigo... I'm sorry," Masaya said as he went towards her grabbing her hands and holding them, "I'm sorry, I know you're right and that I-"

"No, I was wrong," she said interrupting him.

"Look," she said, "When I married you I promised to stay with you through thick and thin, I knew that I would have to be patient and wait for you to finish school." _"Why do his hands feel so cold? Is it just me? Why am I saying this? Is it just because I feel guilty?" she thought._

"No," he said, "You were right I don't take you out, I'm just making you wait, I'm hurting you."

She could still feel him, feel his warmth, feel his touch, his kiss...

She shook the thoughts away and said, "I just want to see you more, have some romance." _"Will I be able to stop thinking about Ryou?" she thought._

"No, I know I'm wrong, which is why I've decided that I'm going to go to school full time," he said.

"What?" she said trying to look surprised. _"Ryou wouldn't hesitate to spend more time with me."_

"Wait, let me finish, I want to go full time, so I can finish it early," he said

"What?" she said trying to remain focused. _"What the hell is he talking about? How can we try and fix this marriage if we don't see each other?" she thought._

"Well it's shorter time and I'm planning on going back to my original major, so it's one year left on it if I go full time," he said.

"If you do that, I won't be able to see you for an entire year," she said taking her hands from his, "Did you forget that you have a full time night job?"

_"Just a little while ago, I was in Ryou's arms and now I'm here having yet another discussion with Masaya," she thought bitterly._

_She inwardly sighed, "Ryou and I had made love for hours and then he just held me all night," she thought, "Had I ever felt that way when I'm with Masaya?"_

"I know," he said, snapping her back from her thoughts, "but it will take less time and at the end I will be able to see you more."

"An entire year?" she said, "I don't even know if our marriage can even last that long!"

"But Ichigo this-"

"This what?" she cut him off.

"I thought you'd be happy about this," he said.

"How could you think I'd be happy not being able to see my own husband!" she yelled.

"But, Ichigo, if I do this it'll be much shorter, and after it's over we won't have to worry about-"

"Do whatever you want!" she yelled storming into her room and locking herself.

_"Do I even want him to stay?" she thought._

Tears starting to well up in her eyes, _"If he knew that I was in here crying about somebody else, he'd probably kill me," she thought._

* * *

**Eeeeennnnjjjjoooyyyyy!**


	8. Friendly Advice

**This is the product of finally getting a goodnight's sleep after months of being sleep deprived. Ah as always, thanks for your patience with my ridiculous life causing ridiculously late updates, but as I said before. It might take me a while, but I WILL complete this story. Yeah. Don't give up on me just yet.  
**

* * *

_**False Love**_

**Chapter 8: Friendly Advice**

Ichigo spent the next several days, loitering around her house, cleaning and re-cleaning everything. The only time, she wasn't cleaning was when she was with Masaya, or more correctly arguing with Masaya. The rest of her time was spent thinking about Ryou and how much she wanted to simply drop everything and run to him. The need for him only grew day after day. The night she had spent with him only made her realize that in his arms was where she was meant to be. She just didn't know how to get from here to there, or if he truly felt the same. She had been waiting for Ryou to call, to give her a sign, to let her know… something. Anything. Now several days later, without so much of a text, she was starting to get frustrated. She didn't know what to do, she was married, jobless, and hadn't even gone to college. She had no accomplishments to show for herself and she knew by all rights, Ryou had more than enough reasons to not want a relationship of any kind with her. Ryou was the exact opposite, he was successful, smart, and handsome, he could have anyone he'd want. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if there were girls lined up outside of his house begging for an opportunity with him.

She sighed into the silence of her apartment. Shaking her head, she dropped the washrag she'd been holding and walked upstairs to shower. Today, she decided, today would be the day she'd generate enough courage to go see him. To see if anything would happen with him, and if not, well she'd ask him for help anyway, because she had to find a way to get out of this hopeless marriage still intact and with Masaya's family, well they had enough money to drown her through a divorce that she knew would be hell to get, what with Masaya intent on keeping her under his thumb. _"How on earth did I get myself into this mess anyway?" _she thought, _"How could I have been so __stupid?"_

* * *

Ryou looked at his phone for what was probably 324th time today, and it was starting to drive him a little bit crazy. _"No calls, no texts, she hasn't sent me anything! Did that night even happen?" _he thought skeptically. Ryou had been hoping that she'd show up back on his doorstep or at the bar, he'd been going there every night since, hoping to see her again but to no avail. Ichigo had simply not contacted him again in anyway. He knew that allowing her to leave that day had been the _"stupidest fucking thing"_ he'd ever done and had regretted it ever since, but he was too afraid to reach out to her, to call her. He'd already watched her go once with that _"fucking prick"_ and he was too afraid she would pick him all over again.

Ryou sighed as he looked around his classroom, his student were all quietly working on a surprise test he'd made up about an hour ago simply because he didn't have the patience to lecture them when all he felt was frustrated. He figured the test would give him practically a free class period to continue to torture himself with thoughts of Ichigo. _"Maybe, it didn't happen. Maybe I dreamt the whole freaking night up, and that's just how delusional and desperate I am for her," _he thought. He knew that wasn't true, but his patience with waiting for any type of response was becoming very thin. _"I mean what am I supposed to do? Call her and say 'hey, I know you're married, but I think you should leave your retard husband and try it with me.'" _He snorted at the thought_, "Freaking pathetic."_

Ryou looked at the clock, they were almost halfway through, and after that, he would have a 2 hour lunch break before trying to find another way to entertain his students without actually doing anything himself, next class, he would definitely have his graduate assistant give the lecture, he knew he would only be even more miserable as the day died down.

In the silence of the room, suddenly hearing the door swing open, definitely made him jump in his seat. He looked towards the entrance to see the blue haired Minto starring back at him.

"Minto?" he asked. He watched her look around the room and then turn to look back at him.

"If I'm interrupting something, I can come back," she said calmly, walking towards him, "But only if you give me your phone number first, it's not fair you only gave it to Ichigo."

The surprise in his face obvious, and she smirked at him, "What? Don't you remember? It's about time for our usual afternoon tea." He suddenly heard one of his student's whistle and snickers soon after.

He laughed himself, "I forgot to give it to you, sorry, and I am in the middle of class." He reached for a sticky note, quickly scribbling his number down and handed it to her, "Class should be finished in about an hour."

She nodded taking the paper and looked around the class again, "What do you teach again?"

"Physics," he answered.

"Yeah," she agreed, "You were always a science nerd. I'm surprised you picked this line of work though."

"They have a great lab here, it's not like I _just_ teach," he responded.

She smiled and turned back to him, "Ah… Now I understand."

He returned her smile, "I'll see you in an hour then?"

"Yes, you will," she nodded walking back towards the door.

* * *

An hour later, Minto came back to find Ryou's classroom empty and his attached office door open. She let herself in and found Ryou typing something up in his computer.

"Hello," she said interrupting him.

He looked up and smiled, "So, Minto, I don't think you'd come out of your way to come see me just for tea, why don't you get right to the point of your visit?"

"That's not necessarily true, but you're right, I did come with a purpose today," she replied, "First, I wanted your phone number and to see your class. Secondly, I wanted to know why you disappeared."

"You've gotten a lot more straightforward than you used to be," he laughed, "Well your first reason is resolved, as for your second reason I did NOT disappear. You guys did."

"No, we didn't," she frowned taking a seat in front of his desk, "All of us. We each tried to reach you, through email, phone calls, I think Retasu even sent a letter and we received nothing back."

"I got rid of the café about a week after, so that was no longer my address. I changed my phone number, out of necessity, apparently one of you had thought it would be a fun idea to write it on the bathroom wall and I kept getting strange calls. My email was changed too, and I attempted to contact you all back through the same means and received no answer in response. Eventually, I gave up and took a year trip through Europe," he huffed.

Minto's frown deepened, "That's weird, Ryou. The only one's number that had changed was Ichigo's everyone else's stayed the same."

Ryou and Minto starred at each other before both quickly coming to the same realization, "Who do you think would've..?"

"You know _exactly _who I think would've," Ryou practically growled.

"Ugh All this time I figured you just didn't want to talk to us anymore," she sighed, "And it's all because they wanted to pull one last prank? I can't believe I didn't realize it before!"

"I highly doubt Pai or Taruto were involved," the annoyance clear in Ryou's voice.

"Yeah," Minto agreed, "This has Kisshu written all over it."

"Minto," Ryou said pointedly, "You know I'll have to properly punch him in the face for this, right?"

Minto laughed, "I could live with that and, honestly, he deserves it for this."

He nodded and watched her smile, "So you really aren't going to disappear now, right?"

He returned her smile, "No, Minto, I'll always be here for all of you, you know that."

Minto and Ryou both stood up at the same time and gave each other a hug, "I really missed you, Ryou," she said softly.

Ryou tightened his grip around her, "Me too, Minto." They let each other go and he could see tears begin to form in her eyes, "I'm going to have to punch him for this myself," she said.

He smiled and squeezed her hand, "Well, I know you're busy. I will call you and we'll actually have our afternoon tea the next time we meet up, ok?"

"Of course, Minto, I'll see you then," Ryou nodded and watched her leave.

Ryou practically threw himself in his chair. He couldn't believe it. _"All this time, I thought they didn't care about me and it was all a stupid prank?" _he almost cried in relief as a huge weight felt lifted from his chest, _"They did try to contact me. All of them cared. Ichigo cared."_ Then he felt a new sense of determination rise in his chest, _"Here I am, thinking I don't have a chance with her, when I'm sitting around doing nothing. Too afraid to be rejected by all of them, but I wasn't rejected, it was all one stupid misunderstanding. I'm not going to stand back again and let Masaya win. I have to talk to her."_

Ryou stood up quickly picking up his keys from his desk and marching out of his office to stop dead in his tracks at the person standing in front of his classroom doors.

Ichigo starred back at him, her watched her flush and saw her bottom lip quiver, "Ryou, I… I need to talk to you," she said almost a whisper.

He stood lost in her eyes for several seconds before motioning her to his office. She walked inside his office and he closed the doors behind him. Ryou couldn't help studying her as she stood nervously in his office. Ichigo wore a 50's style pink polka doted sundress, with a sweetheart neckline, that accentuated her breasts and simple white wedge sandals. _"She looks like a sexy, frightened little kitten,"_ he thought.

She turned back to him and took a step towards him, nervously chewing on her bottom lip, "Ryou, I…"

Ryou immediately finished the distance between them and crashed his lips onto hers. He didn't know what got into him at that moment. All he knew was that he wanted to hear her moan his name over and over again like their night together. He wanted to feel her lips on his and her legs wrapped around him as she met him thrust for thrust and, judging from how eagerly she kissed him back, he knew she wanted it too.

Forty-five minutes later, Ryou continued to trail kisses down the neck of a very naked and happy Ichigo as they both laid on his desk.

"We really do need to talk, Ryou," Ichigo said breathlessly.

Ryou stopped and sighed, "I know, I-" A soft knock on Ryou's door interrupted him and they both stopped and listened to a voice outside, "Professor Shirogane? It's time for class? Are you in there?"

Ryou and Ichigo both jumped off the desk and struggled to quickly put on their clothes as Ryou responded, "Yes, I'll be right there."

Ichigo was about to open the door when Ryou grabbed her arm and turned her to him, "Don't," he begged, "Don't go. You can stay here, it's only an hour and a half and we can talk after."

Ichigo leaned into his arms and kissed him, "I wish I could, but I can't, he… he should be coming home soon and if he finds out that I'm not there…" she trailed off.

Ryou's grip immediately tightened around Ichigo and his eyes grew dark, "What exactly would he do to you, Ichigo?"

"He wouldn't hurt me, not like that," she quickly answered, "Just… It'll be better if I'm there. Can I call you later? I mean, maybe after he goes to work? It would be late, but I really want to talk to you."

Ryou slowly let go of her and said, "I already told you, Ichigo, you can call me whenever."

He leaned into her ear and whispered, "I will _NOT_ lose you a second time, Ichigo."

His words sending shivers down her spine. Ryou wanted her and that's all that seemed to matter to her at the moment. When more knocking came from the door, Ryou became visibly annoyed and she let out a small giggle at his frustration. She looked him over, noticing his disheveled look and she realized that she probably didn't look much better. He sighed heavily as he reached out for the door knob and slowly pulled it open for them.

He gestured with his free hand, "Ladies first." She giggled again and stepped out into the classroom, upon seeing the disheveled duo, the class erupted with catcalls.

"Holy shit! I thought the girl had blue hair, hers is red?" one student announced.

"Two girls in one day? Professor Shirogane has game!" another one joked.

Ryou cleared his throat and commanded the class's attention, "Everyone shut up and sit down!"

Ryou then leaned in to Ichigo and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "I'll talk to you later then."

"Yes, but first, who's the girl with blue hair?" she narrowed her eyes at him.

Ryou couldn't help but grin at Ichigo's clear jealousy, "Minto," he answered, watching her instantly relax.

"Ok," she smiled and walked towards door, Ryou following her after and opening the door for her. They exchanged one last wistful look as he watched her leave, yet again. At least, this time he had a promise of a phone call.

Ryou turned back to the class, all attention and focus was on him and the scene they all witnessed. He shook his head, deciding that, being in a much better mood now, he would give the lecture himself and not pawn it off on his assistant.

* * *

Ichigo arrived to her house and quickly ran for a shower, as much as she didn't mind smelling of Ryou right now, she was very well aware that would undoubtedly not go over well with Masaya and considering all they did was argue, she didn't want to make it even worse.

Ichigo let the water massage her back as she let her mind to wander about memories with her and Ryou. Ichigo never felt more alive and happy than when she was with him and she hated herself for never realizing it before. She should've known, a part of her did, the part that had felt so lost when she had lost contact with Ryou. She had felt so depressed, it's no wonder that she allowed herself to overlook all of Masaya's faults, she had already denied herself her own real happiness, she thought he wouldn't ever look at her. His eyes so full of depth, so willing to receive and so warm it sent tingles down to her toes. Ichigo couldn't deny being in love with her stubborn Shirogane and he wanted her back. The thought itself made her so happy she just wanted to jump up and down.

Ichigo finished her shower and went to make a quick meal for Masaya and deciding that she was in no mood to argue, she laid down and pretended to be asleep when she heard the front door opening to her apartment.

"Ichigo?" He asked, quickly coming towards the bedroom, she heard him sigh and say, "I'm going out to eat with a friend, I just came to check on you."

Ichigo's emotions began boiling quickly, but she continued to act as if she were asleep. _"Of course, he can go out with his friends but I can't see mine more than twice a month?! Perfect!"_

She heard Masaya walk away from the room and to the kitchen after listening to him rustle around in the kitchen she heard him say, "I won't be back before work, so I'm gonna head straight there." Then she heard the front door open and close as he left.

Ichigo waited several minutes before getting out of bed and insuring that his car was gone. She looked at the kitchen and saw that he had taken the meal she'd made, probably for his lunch. She sighed heavily again as she sat down. She picked up her phone,_ "Well if he can go see his friends, then I can see mine!" _she thought.

As she waited for the person on the other end to pick up, her thoughts whirling around in her head, she knew her friend would help her figure things out and she really needed someone's support. She didn't want to rush things with Ryou, but she also didn't have anywhere to go to just up and leave. She needed options, and she knew her friend would definitely help her see a little more clearly into the situation.

"Ichigo?" she heard the voice on the other end of the line, "Wassup?"

"Oh thank God you answered!" Ichigo all but screamed, "Can we meet somewhere? Anywhere? I really need to talk to you."

"Uh yeah, how about the park near where you live? I'm pretty close to it anyway," the voice responded.

"Ok," Ichigo agreed, "See you there in about ten minutes?"

"Alright." Ichigo hung up and quickly grabbed her things and headed out.

Ichigo sat on the park bench holding a strawberry milk container she'd gotten from the vending machine as she impatiently waited for her friend to arrive. She felt herself becoming more and more tense as she fidgeted in her seat.

"Hello, Ichigo," Ichigo jumped up and pulled her friend into a tight hug, "Zakuro!"

* * *

**_Zakuro Fujiwara_**

**_Gender: Female_**

**_Age: 22_**

**_Status: Single_**

**_Occupation: Modeling also owns new modeling agency called "Kitten Looks"_**

**_Look: Taller, beautifully fierce_**

**_Motto: "Life is a bitch, get used to it"_**

**_Self-image: Cold, wise, and sweet_**

* * *

Zakuro hugged Ichigo back and smiled, then frowned, "Seriously, Ichigo, what's going on?"

Ichigo looked at her friend and slumped down on the bench. She took a deep breath, "So you know we met up with Ryou again, right?"

"Yeah, Minto filled me in," Zakuro said, taking a seat by her.

Ichigo nodded letting out her breath, "Well Ryou and I have been seeing each other a bit."

Zakuro raised her eyebrows at Ichigo, motioning her to continue, "Ok well the truth is, Ryou and I bumped into each other at a bar, right after Masaya and I had another huge blow out, and… well… we…"

"Slept together?" Zakuro finished.

Ichigo flushed and nodded. "I always wondered when you two would get together, the way you guys always looked at each other," Zakuro said, "Who would've thought it'd take 7 yrs and a marriage later."

Ichigo frowned, "I really wish I hadn't gotten married, Zakuro, I don't know what to do. We also… I mean I went to talk to Ryou again, and well we… again… well we didn't do much talking... and I definitely need to leave Masaya though, I'm pretty sure I'm in love with Ryou and wait… what do you mean the way we looked at each other? Ryou looked at me?" she asked turning to her.

Zakuro nodded absentmindedly, "Oh yeah, he would look at you when he thought no one was looking and the look in his eyes when he watched you, you could just tell he was just mesmerized by you, you know?"

Ichigo's blush darkened and she felt a tingling sensation rush through her, the feeling of wanting Ryou to hold her again felt almost overwhelming. The feel of his hair running through her fingers, his strong arms wrapped around her, always pulling her closer. The shy smile he gave her after they had first made love. The soft kisses he gave her, like he simply couldn't get enough. He made her feel, like she was all he ever wanted. All the feelings she had pushed away and ignored were growing exponentially for him. Ichigo had fallen in love with Ryou a long time ago, and to now finally have feelings reciprocated, to know that he had feelings for her too. Every inch of her simply craved him, craved his laugh, his smirks, craved listening to him talk about things she'd probably never understand, his playful looks, his gentle touch, she craved everything that made him her perfect stubborn Ryou Shirogane.

"So… leaving Masaya, huh?" Zakuro asked, breaking Ichigo from her thoughts.

"I have to, the fighting is only getting worse and I literally have to sneak out of the house to see my friends," Ichigo sighed, her eyes beginning to water, "I'm scared of him, Zakuro, I am _scared _of my own husband."

Zakuro reached over and squeezed her friend's hand, "That's not exactly a good reason to stick around. He hasn't hurt you, has he?"

Ichigo shook her head, "No but sometimes the look in his eyes," she shuddered, "I really think he might."

"Well then, we have to get you out of there, Ichigo, we have to get you out of there fast," Zakuro said, "Tonight, let's do it tonight. Start packing your clothes and whatever else, and I'll meet you there with a moving company -"

"Zakuro! I don't even have anywhere to go!" Ichigo cried.

Zakuro gave her an incredulous look, "What on earth are you talking about, Ichigo? You should know very well by now that any one of us would take you in on a heartbeat."

"I don't have a job, I can't pay for anything, that car is under Masaya's name, it's not even mine, I don't have any money, I don't have anything," Ichigo answered.

Zakuro put an arm around Ichigo, "Ichigo, first of all, you could live off me the rest of your life and I'd never ask you to pay it back, you've done that tenfold in other ways, secondly, we can always get you a job, you'd be a great model," she smiled and winked, "and third, the car thing? Minto will lend you one of hers for the rest of your life if you need and she does have an assortment of very nice sports cars."

Ichigo laughed and then cried more, "Ok, ok. Just let me think about it first? I wasn't expecting this, so I just need time to adjust to the idea, ok?"

Zakuro gave her a stern look, "Ok."

They both sat there for a while in silence as Ichigo's tears subsided.

"Sooo… You and Shirogane, love huh?" Zakuro said teasingly.

Ichigo laughed, "I really think so, I-well you know I always."

"Yeah, I know," Zakuro smiled, "I think you guys would be good together. Well, if he's anything like he used to be anyways."

"He is," Ichigo smiled, "And he's so much more."

* * *

"Hey, man, what's up?" Ryou said patting his friend on the back as he took a seat on the stool by him. Ryou had come to the same bar across the street from his apartment.

"Hey, Mr. I'm-gonna-have-a-rump-in-my-office-and-get-caught-by-my-entire-class, how are you, today?" Sammy laughed.

* * *

**_Samuel Perez_**

**_Gender: Male_**

**_Age: 36_**

**_Status: Married_**

**_Occupation: College Professor_**

**_Look: Mature, black short hair, hazel eyes_**

**_Motto: "It is what it is."_**

**_Self-image: Strong, experienced_**

* * *

Ryou rolled his eyes and laughed with his friend, "Listen, I can't stay too long, I'm expecting a phone call," he responded ordering a beer.

"From the blue haired girl or the red haired girl or both?" Sammy asked raising his brow.

Ryou punched him in the arm, "I did**_not_** sleep with the blue haired girl and no one actually saw me doing anything but kissing the cheek of the other one. Geeze everything travels far too fast in that place."

He laughed, "Tell me something I don't know! Who's the redhead, Mr. Love Bird?"

Ryou couldn't help the soft smile that settled in his face, "Her name is Ichigo."

"Sounds like there's some history there," Sammy nodded, eying Ryou down, "There some history there, son?"

"Well… no romantic history, if that's what you mean," Ryou said, "I mean, if you don't count my being in love with her since I was 15."

Sammy let out a low whistle, "8 yrs? Almost as long as I've been happily married," he mused.

"Marriage? That's another problem all together," Ryou sighed heavily.

"Ryou, don't tell me… is she…," Sammy turned fully towards him and almost yelled, "Ryou, is she married?!"

Ryou turned towards him with wide eyes, "Sammy! Inside voice please!"

Sammy started shaking his head, "Ry, I know you're smarter than to sleep with a married girl, I mean I understand you have feelings for her, but-"

"I know, I know, but she's leaving him," Ryou sighed again, "Well, I think she's leaving him. It really doesn't seem like she's happy, in fact, she seemed kinda scared of the guy."

Sammy frowned, "You _think_?"

"I'm pretty sure that's what this phone calls is going to be about, Sammy," Ryou said.

"And you're absolutely sure she isn't, I don't know, trying to spice up her love life or something?" Sammy said wearily.

Ryou all but growled at Sammy, "She's not that type of person, Sammy. She's, God, if you met her you'd understand. She isn'tthat kind of person. She's not toying with me."

"Ok, ok. I believe you, I just don't want you to, you know, get into any unnecessary messes, Ry," Sammy responded, "So then what're you gonna do?"

"I don't know," Ryou answered exasperated.

"Does she love you?" Sammy asked.

"I don't know."

"That's quite a predicament you're in already," Sammy sighed, "But easily solvable, just use your charismatic charm and conn her into doing your bidding. Problem solved," Sammy nodded enthusiastically.

"Do my what?" Ryou asked bemused.

Sammy continued in a serious tone, "Oh yeah, I practically have Natsuki hypnotized by now. Honestly, how'd you think I married someone _that_ far out of my league?"

Ryou grinned at his friend, "Oh yeah, I bet it has nothing to do with how you practically worship the ground she walks on or anything."

Sammy tsked him, "No-no, Ryou, that's just how my hypnosis works."

"Sure it is," he clapped Sammy on the shoulder, "Whatever you have to tell yourself, Sammy."

"You better get going, don't wanna get too drunk before you get that call," Sammy laughed, "And I don't want to get home too late and miss some fun with the wife," Sammy said wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

"One last shot for the ride?" Ryou asked.

Sammy nodded, "I'm sure you'll need it."

They took their shots and went their separate ways. Ryou almost running back to his apartment, he looked around and sighed deciding on a quick shower and some coffee before setting his phone on the coffee table and starring at it in wait.

By 12 a.m. he felt exasperated. Ichigo was driving him crazy. _"Why hasn't she called yet?"_ he knew he sounded desperate and the alcohol was most definitely making it worse.

He picked up his phone and right before he clicked on the call button, he heard knocking on his door. He immediately jumped up and almost ran to the door. Then he stopped, taking a deep breath composing himself. _"Shit! I'm acting like a freaking teenager! Get a hold of yourself, Ryou!"_

He calmly opened the door and starred at her, his eyes grazing over her. Her pink oversized off the shoulder tee, black leggings, and pink chucks. "I know, I said I would call but…" Ryou couldn't help but reach over and flick her forehead. Ichigo blushed clapping her hand on her forehead, "Hey!"

Ryou gave her a playful smirk, "Are you coming or what?" he chuckled turning around and walking back towards his living room. Ichigo followed after him, closing the door behind herself.

Ichigo watched him sit down and went to stand in front of him, "I'm definitely leaving him!" she announced loudly, clearing her throat, "I mean, not everything is planned out yet and it's not cause of you or just cause of what happened. I don't love him, ok? I just… I mean I'm figuring things out, but I thought you should know. I… I'm not staying with him."

Ryou looked at her and reached for her hand, tugging her softly towards him. She knelt in front of him and he placed a soft kiss on her forehead, "It's ok to be scared, Ichigo," he said lightly caressing his fingers on her neck, "You know I'm here for you, no matter what happens or doesn't happen between us. I will protect you and be here for you with whatever you need. Always. Don't ever forget that, Ichigo."

Ichigo leaned in to his touch and sighed, she smiled, "Thank you, Ryou."

He smiled and stood up, pulling her up with him and leading her to a shelf, "Here. Why don't you pick out a movie, I'll go make us some drinks and popcorn and we'll just relax on the couch, ok?"

Ichigo nodded and set on looking through the movies. Pouting, she said, "All you have is horror movies and scifi!"

She heard Ryou laugh from the kitchen, "Don't worry, Ichigo, if you get scared I'll cover your eyes, ok?"

She rolled her eyes, "I'm not five yrs old, Shirogane!"

"Then quit complaining and pick something, Strawberry!" he retorted.

"Fine!" As to prove a point she picked The Exorcist, the scariest one she recognized and put it in his dvd player.

A few minutes later he joined her on the couch, allowing her to snuggle with him and putting his arm around her. They settled in and watched the movie, or as much as they could with Ichigo's consistent screaming and Ryou continuously laughing at her reactions, but still every time she got scared, he would pull her to his chest and whisper in her ear that it was "just a movie" in between his chuckles.

Ichigo and Ryou both felt that there was nowhere else they'd rather be than in each other's arms.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you have a few minutes, let me know what you thought... and now to continue watching Chris Tucker Live on Netflix. (I slept so well the night before that I've been up since 6 am yesterday until now, with no end in clear sight) Hah story of my life.**


	9. Ryou & Ichigo

**Ok. So you guys can hate me now. To be honest I wrote this chapter back in march…. But I didn't edit it… till now hahaha sorry. But I dunno couldn't bring myself to buckle down and focus. Which is why I want to send a thanks to Song Butterfly Girl because somehow your comment got me into gear and pushed me to finish this up.**

**Of course that being said I appreciate all of my readers and reviewers, because you guys encourage me to keep going and reading your comments helps me get hyped up and get into the mood to write a chapter and do my best at it and hopefully learn and improve as I go along.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**False Love**

**Chapter 9: Ryou and Ichigo**

The next night…

Ryou was sitting on his couch, staring at his ceiling when someone began ringing his doorbell. Glancing at the clock and frowning, he stood and walked over. Looking through the peephole on his door, he smiled at the person standing on the other end and quickly opened it.

Ryou laughed, pulling his friend into a hug, "Keiichiro? Why didn't you just use your own key?"

"Hey, Ryou," Keiichiro answered, hugging him back.

* * *

_**Keiichiro Akasaka**_

_**Gender: Male**_

_**Age: 26**_

_**Status: Single**_

_**Occupation: Archeologist**_

_**Look: Older, skin much darker, still handsome**_

_**Motto: "The world has many mysteries, we must study it to understand it"**_

_**Self-image: Kind-hearted, sweet, hard-working**_

* * *

"Here, let me help you with that," Ryou said, taking Keiichiro's bags.

Keiichiro smiled and followed his friend inside. "What happened? I wasn't expecting you back for another year," Ryou asked.

"Ah well our findings are being transferred to the lab here and I was homesick, so I agreed to come back and study them in further detail," Keiichiro smiled.

"Well, I'm glad you're back," Ryou grinned and placed Keiichiro's bags in his room and came back out.

"So… what is up? Tell me the low-down, Ryou," Keiichiro grinned back taking a seat on the couch.

"Low-down? Keii, I told you, please stop trying to be cool," Ryou said arching his brow and laughing.

Keiichiro laughed, "Ah I still can't quite get it right, huh?"

"No," Ryou answered, "Beer?"

"Please," Keiichiro nodded, "I take it everything is well then?"

"Yeah, I uh," Ryou started, handing Keiichiro a beer and sitting by him, "I bumped into the girls."

"What? When? Why didn't you tell me?" Keiichiro frowned, taking the drink, "How did that go? Did you see Zakuro?" Keiichiro knew that the girls had become a touchy subject for Ryou.

"No I didn't see her, yet anyways and I found out that idiot Kisshu is the one who caused us not to remain in contact," Ryou said, "And I slept with a very married Ichigo, so I think it could've been worse."

Keiichiro's eyebrows shot up, "Say again?"

"I said Kisshu was the reason we didn't remain in contact," Ryou answered innocently.

"The other part, Ryou," Keiichiro said impatiently, "You slept with Ichigo? As in-"

"Sex, Keiichiro, sex," Ryou grinned, "Honestly, you can be such a prude sometimes."

"Yes," Keiichiro agreed, "The problem now is that I'm a prude, and not that you had sexual relations with a _married_ woman."

"She's leaving him," Ryou said sternly, "She's going to get a divorce. She doesn't belong with him, she never did."

"Right," Keiichiro sighed, "You're sure she's getting a divorce then?"

"Yes," Ryou answered.

Keiichiro watched him for a moment and smiled, "OK."

"Zakuro is doing fine, by the way, heard she's having wet dreams about you," Ryou smirked.

"Uh," Keiichiro's eyes widened in surprised, "W-wet what?"

Ryou laughed loudly, "Seriously, Keii, just marry the girl already."

"I do have plans to see her," Keiichiro laughed.

Ryou grinned, "Wanna get take-out? I want to know all about your findings."

"Sounds great. Thai?" Keiichiro agreed.

Ryou nodded and set out to find a menu and continued catching up with his friend.

* * *

Ichigo continued driving around aimlessly, not exactly willing to return home, not exactly sure where to go, and so deeply lost in thought that she didn't notice her gas gauge slowly getting closer and closer to empty.

Finally, Ichigo pulled into a hotel parking lot and called Masaya.

"Hello?" he responded.

"Hi," she said quietly.

"Ichigo, where in the hell are you?" Masaya barked.

"I'm staying at Minto's, we're having a girl's night," she answered quickly.

"Come home now!" Masaya yelled, "I did not give you permission to spend time with your whore friends!"

"Don't call them that!" Ichigo yelled back, "I'm not coming back tonight! You can stay out all night with your friends, whenever you want, but I can't spend a night with any of mine? No! I'm staying, I don't care what you say anymore!" Ichigo immediately hung up, breathing heavily.

She sighed and got out of the car, making her way to the hotel entrance. _"I just need to think, just gather my thoughts and prepare myself to leave him," _she thought, _"God! I, honestly, never thought I'd be trying to prepare myself to get a divorce."_

When she finally got up to her room, she walked in closing the door behind her, went to the bed and threw herself on it. She stayed like that for a little while before she got up and went to the mini bar and took a bottle of white wine, opened it and poured some into a glass and took a sip.

Ichigo sighed and decided to take a long bath to soothe herself and pray that Masaya wasn't going to be trying to do anything stupid for the argument on the phone they just had.

"_When did my life get so complicated?"_ she thought.

* * *

Both Ryou and Keiichiro turned in and Keiichiro sat on his bed contemplating whether it would be too late to call or not. After much thought he pressed the call button and waited listening to the phone ring.

"Keii?" answered a sleepy happy voice.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" he responded smiling.

"It's ok, I'm glad you called," she responded, "Your flight went well then?"

"Yes, I can't wait to see you again. It's been too long, Zakuro."

She laughed, "I went to visit you just last week."

"I know and I missed you as soon as you left," Keiichiro responded.

"Yeah, I missed you too," Zakuro replied, "Have you told Ryou yet?"

"No, not yet, I'm staying with him for a couple of weeks anyways and he seems to have a lot on his plate right now," he answered, "By the way, why didn't you tell me about Ryou and Ichigo?"

"By the time I found out the details you were already on your way here, so I figured you'd find out after you got here anyways."

He smiled, "Of course, well I'm glad they all reunited, Ryou won't pester me for information on all of you all the time now."

She laughed again, "I didn't know it bothered you so much."

"It doesn't, but I never knew what I could say and couldn't say. I wonder how surprised he was to find out Ichigo was married," Keiichiro mused.

"Well, I'm kind of glad they did what they did, I'm hoping their… relationship, pushes Ichigo to leave Masaya," Zakuro sighed, "If he hurts her…"

"Ryou seems absolutely certain she's going to," Keiichiro responded, "Has she said anything?"

"Yeah, she has, but she said she needed to think about things before she did it, I don't think she's going to backtrack, but you never know with these kinds of things," Zakuro sighed again.

He smiled, "It won't. I know Ryou, and unfortunately, he's not usually wrong about things. If he's that certain, I know it'll happen. One way or another Ryou will probably find a way to make it happen, he won't let Ichigo continue such a dangerous relationship and I think he's getting an idea of what's going on in their marriage, even without Ichigo outright telling him."

"You sound so sure." Zakuro responded.

"Because I know Ryou that well," Keiichiro responded.

"What do you think his plan is then?" Zakuro asked.

"I don't know, I can't read his mind, but right now, he might just be giving her time," Keiichiro answered, "I'm positive he's hired a P.I. (Private Investigator) to look into their marriage further. He isn't the type to go into things half way or ill-prepared. At least not most of the time."

"Of course, he could just ask me though, I'd tell him everything," Zakuro answered.

"This _is_ Ryou we're talking about," Keiichiro laughed, "He has his way of handling things."

"Right," Zakuro said exaspareted, "Tell him to speed up the process then, my patience with that situation is extremely thin and every time it comes up with the other girls, well, everyone is extremely worried about her and Retasu has enough of her own worries right now."

"I'll see what I can do," Keiichiro responded concern filling his voice, "How is Retasu doing right now?"

"She's stressed, she has the appointment next week, and she asked us if we would go."

"Isn't Pai going to be there?" Keiichiro asked.

"No, she still hasn't told him anything, she's too afraid to," Zakuro answered, "I'm sure he's noticed somethings wrong, but Pai has always been very patient when it comes to Retasu and is probably giving her space so that she can come around to tell him."

"I hope everything goes well with the appointment," Keiichiro responded, "Any news with Minto? I heard about Kisshu and the contact issues he had created."

"They had a big fight, but I'm sure he'll do something to get back into her good graces again, he always does. Minto's not letting him out easy for this one though," Zakuro mused, "I can't blame her. You know how they are."

"Yes," he laughed, "And Purin?"

"Purin's been on a high since Taruto officially asked her out a few months ago, they'd been spending so much time together, no one was surprised, but she did tell Ichigo that they haven't kissed yet," Zakuro responded.

"They shouldn't be kissing! She's only 16!" Keiichiro replied quickly.

"I'm pretty sure that's the normal age range to start kissing, Keii," Zakuro replied humoredly.

Keiichiro scrunched up his face, "No. They're too young. They should wait until they're 20 at least."

Zakuro laughed whole heartedly, "20? Wow Keii, no wonder you wouldn't even hold my hand for the first three months when we started dating. You really _are _a prude."

"Quiet! Or I really will ask you to marry me," he laughed.

She grinned, "And what would you do if I said yes this time?"

"I'd propose we elope before you change your mind," he said seriously.

She laughed, "We'll see."

"It's getting late, I'll let you sleep, and we'll see each other tomorrow," he laughed.

"Sounds good," she smiled, "Goodnight, Keii."

"Goodnight, Zakuro," he replied.

* * *

Ryou laid on his bed, restlessly turning from side to side before his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Ryou? I'm sorry I'm calling so late," Ichigo started started nervously.

"Ichigo?" Ryou said sitting up on his bed, "Its ok. I don't mind, is everything ok?"

"Well, I just…" she sighed, "I just really needed to hear your voice."

He smiled, "Yeah it's nice to hear yours too, but you didn't answer my question."

"Everything is ok. Actually, this might sound a little weird but I'm at a hotel," she responded.

He frowned, "Why?"

"I don't know. I couldn't stay home and I thought it would be nice to have some time to think of my own, but now I feel like my head is just going around in circles with everything. I'm just so… I don't know. I feel like an idiot," she said exasperated, "I don't know."

"Ichigo, you're not an idiot," Ryou smirked, "I mean you're not the brightest, but you're not the dullest either.

"You are so mean, Ryou!" she shrieked.

He laughed, "Come on, you can't say you didn't walk right into that one."

"Whatever, Ryou!" she laughed.

He grinned, "I'm glad you're laughing."

She smiled, "Ryou…"

"Yeah?"

"Would it be a terrible thing for me to ask you…"

He waited a few beats before encouraging her to continue, "Strawberry, quit playing with me and just ask."

"Would you like to come over?" she whispered shyly.

His grin grew, "Straw-"

"Shirogane, if you tease me about this, I'll retract my offer so fast your head will spin!" she said sternly interrupting him.

He chuckled, "Alright, alright. Where are you?"

"The Marriot. Room 310," she giggled.

He smirked, "That's not too far from me, I'll be there soon."

"Ok," she smiled, "I'll see you in a little bit then."

"Yeah," he replied, "See you soon."

* * *

**:)**


	10. Again

**LMAO… You know one time I had this craziest dream where I fell into this deep black cave and everything that was wrong with the world was just attacking me, but then there was a light and I started to fly out of it and when I made it into the sky, I was a butterfly. LOL we will get to what's wrong with Retasu (yes, she's Lettuce). Don't wanna give it away yet, but you shall see :D**

**Thank you so much for all your support everyone. So much has been going on and this has been helping to keep me steady and remember that the world is more than what goes on in my little head/life. Sometimes you just have to remember to breathe.**

**So here's a piece of my heart to you all, yet again. And I hope you all enjoy it.**

* * *

_**False Love**_

**Chapter 10: Again**

Ryou was standing outside the door, nerves running up his spine. Smoothing out his shirt, he took a deep breath, and knocked.

After some rustling, the door opened and stood Ichigo in a white fluffy hotel robe. Her eyes open wide, flush gracing her cheeks.

"Ryou," She said, her face breaking into a smile.

He grinned reaching to touch her cheek and leaning in to kiss her. She smiled kissing him back, tugging on his other hand to bring him in the room. They stood there just staring at each other.

She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek and Ryou reached up and placed his hand on hers and frowned. Removing her hand from his cheek, he held it in his hand and touched her ring with his thumb. "Ichigo, we need to talk," Ryou said.

She watched his hand, "Ryou…"

"Ichigo, I love you. I want to be with you, but I don't know if can do this," Ryou sighed, "I don't think I can do this anymore, not while knowing you're going to go back to him. I'm not trying to push you, but-"

"But you _are_ pushing me. You're pushing me right now. Leave Masaya or I'll leave you," she argued.

"No, Ichigo, I don't want to base the start of our relationship on adultery. You and I are both better than that. No matter what you decide I'm going to be there for you, but I can't be there for you like this," Ryou responded.

Ichigo looked at the floor, "I know, I know, but I'm not ready yet, I need a little more time."

"I know I get that, strawberry, but I just can't do this. I'm not this guy, I can't be your freaking mistress for god's sakes," he responded exasperatedly, "I'm sorry, but I think it's better if I just go for now."

She frowned with tears in her eyes, "But…"

He reached over and hugged her for several minutes, "I love you. Tell me if you need anything, but I'm going to go for now."

Ichigo watched as Ryou turned and walked away, tears threatening her eyes and the words "I love you" caught in her throat. She wanted to stop him, wanted to yank him back in the room and feel his skin on hers. _"You don't have a right to,"_ she reminded herself, _"Not while you're still with Masaya." _But as she watched the door begin to close slowly behind him, she couldn't control her mouth from crying out. "NYA! Ryou Wait!"

Ryou froze in place, he was more than aware that all Ichigo would have to do is call him back and he would turn right around. His resolve to leave had already diminished the moment he took a step away from her. Away from his strawberry. The one he'd always been drawn to, he couldn't leave her, he'd be anything she'd want him to be, as much as he would deny it, he knew that he would never stop loving her.

He slowly turned around and looked into the distraught eyes of his lover. "Please, just stay, we don't have to do anything. I just want to be with you, please," her eyes pleading with him. He stepped towards her and closed the door behind himself. Reaching up he ruffled her hair and kissed her forehead.

He took her hand and led her to the couch and grinned at her as she snuggled next to him. His eyes couldn't help but follow her neck down to her breasts, her robe covered her well though and he felt disappointed. _"Control yourself,"_ he reprimanded himself, _"Otherwise, that stupid speech would've meant nothing."_ Could he control himself? Wasn't that exactly what had put them both in this position the lack of control? He couldn't help himself around his strawberry. "_**His**__ strawberry_,_" _he liked the sound of that_, "It sounded right. It __**was**__ right. She was his, even if she couldn't admit it right now, he was hers and she was his, it's always been that way. It always should be that way." _Without a second thought he reached for her left hand and removed the ring from it and he looked at it for second before deciding to simply toss it across the room, away from both of them. "_His strawberry should not be wearing a ring from another man," _he decided stubbornly, not caring how she took the action, he settled back in and pointedly ignored her look of surprise as he picked up the remote and started flicking through the channels on the television.

"Ryou?" Ichigo questioned.

He looked at her from the corner of his eyes, "Hmm?" he said innocently.

"Why?" she asked furrowing her brows at him.

He shrugged, "Why what?"

"You know what," she asked.

He flicked her forehead and answered, "Strawberry, this is one of those things that you should be able to figure out on your own, so I'm not answering that. What do you want to watch anyway?"

Ichigo studied his profile for a moment, before a grin broke out and she leaned up and kissed him on the corner of his mouth. Ryou's lip twitched as if trying to contain a smile as he turned to face her. She couldn't help it as she broke into a laugh and he joined her. She reached over and kissed him laughter still bubbling up between them as they settled again on the couch. Ryou rubbed soothing circles on her back and she sighed, snuggling closer. He set the remote down and he reached with his other hand to the tie of her robe, tugging at it. She looked at his hand and slapped it away, and laughed, "Bad, Shirogane, bad!"

Ryou pouted, "You're no fun, strawberry."

She leaned up again and placed a kiss on his neck, "Sure, I am," she whispered, biting down on his neck. He shuddered a bit and hummed approvingly as she continued to nibble her way down his neck. She tugged on his shirt, until he caved and took it off, and continued her administrations down his chest. Kisses, nibbles, licks. She enjoyed the taste of Ryou's skin on her tongue and the feel of his smooth muscles on her hands.

Ryou fully shifted on the couch, placing his leg on one side of her, so that they would face each other. He looked at her expectantly and she giggled as he loosened her robe and pulled her closer. Kissing and suckling her breasts she moaned. _"Speech? What speech?" _he laughed inwardly, _"Who cares? She's mine."_ So he took her. Loved her. Showed her in any way he could that she was his, that this was the way it should be, that she shouldn't doubt it, **couldn't **doubt it.

When they had exhausted themselves, he gingerly picked her up from the couch and carried her to the bed where they held each other for the rest of the night.

* * *

**Admittedly, I have been recently reading some werewolf stories where the alpha is possessive and some of that may or may not have influenced this chapter a little bit . hehe I had fun writing this one, yeah? Good day, dearies! **


End file.
